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MASSENA, N.Y. (June 27, 2021) – After Friday’s record-setting pace, Sunday’s Qualifying Round finale was a much tougher, grueling day on the water for the 40 anglers in Group A at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley in Massena, New York.

After battling the windy conditions, when the final bass was tallied on SCORETRACKER Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, coasted to victory in Group A, catching 66 bass totaling 222 pounds, 1 ounce – a new Bass Pro Tour record for the heaviest two-day Qualifying Round weight. The six-day event, hosted by the Town of Massena and Fish Massena, features 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

Pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, California, boated a two-day total of 59 bass totaling 190-13 to end the day in second place after starting in third. Berkley pro Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Alabama, caught 52 bass weighing 177-9 over two days to finish the round in third place. Toro pro Jeff Sprague of Point, Texas , ended the round in fourth place with a two-day total of 59 bass for 172-4. Rounding out the top five was Favorite Fishing pro Jonathon VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who caught the heaviest weight of the day Sunday – 25 bass for 77-15 – to finish with a two-day total of 54 bass for 172-4 and advance in fifth place.

The top 20 anglers from Group A will now enjoy an off-day Monday, while the 40 anglers in Qualifying Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition. The Knockout Round, featuring 38 anglers competing to finish in the top eight, will take place on Tuesday. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Wheeler, Monday’s Group B winner, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

“To break another record just feels unbelievable,” said Wheeler. “I’ve been catching fish in all three phases of the spawn, this week. Some of the fish were set up and cruising – those are post-spawners. Some of them were actually sitting on the edges of those points, and those were pre-spawners. And then there are bass spawning on top of the points around the islands, and I’m just rotating through them.

“I rotated between a drop-shot rig, using a Rattlin’ Ned from Googan Baits called a Blue Penny, and then throwing the same bait but actually on a Ned rig,” Wheeler continued. “I threw them on my 7-foot medium action Signature Series Duckett rod on one and my 7-foot, 2-inch medium-heavy Signature Series Duckett rod on the other.
“I’m excited to qualify for the Championship Round and have another chance to take home a W,” Wheeler went on to say. “In the last event at Chickamauga I finished second, and I want nothing more than to tie my buddy Otter (Defoe) and win two events in one year.”

Ehrler also used the drop-shot rig Sunday, but credited his Daiwa Tatula LT reel and its faster gear ratio as being the key to his day.

“I caught them very similar today to how I did the first day – pitching and casting to light and dark spots on some of these main river reefs,” Ehrler said. “I’ve been drop-shotting a Roboworm with a Gamakatsu G Finesse Drop Shot hook and a 3/8-ounce Ark Tungsten sinker. The key was really my Daiwa Tatula LT reel, though.

“A lot of times today I would pitch into these light spots in the current and when the fish would bite they would move off and swim down the current very fast,” Ehrler continued. “My line would go slack, but luckily I was able to pick up a lot of line quickly with the LT and it’s faster gear ratio. That was really important in getting these fish in the boat today.”

The top 20 pros from Qualifying Group A that now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on the St. Lawrence River are:

The post Wheeler Wins Group A Qualifying Round at Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour Stage Five at St. Lawrence River appeared first on Bass365.com.

MASSENA, N.Y. (June 26, 2021) – Although it didn’t quite match Friday’s frenetic day of fishing, the 39 pro anglers on the water Saturday also experienced a special day of fishing at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley in Massena, New York.

When time expired at 5:30 p.m., Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, held the early lead for Group B with 31 bass weighing 99 pounds, 1 ounce. Right behind Cox in second place is reigning REDCREST Champion Favorite Fishing pro Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, who boated 21 bass totaling 83-13. Rounding out the top three was Shelby, North Carolina’s Bryan Thrift, who caught 28 bass for 81-13 to end the day in third.

The 39 anglers in Group B will have the day off on Sunday, while the 40 anglers in Group A will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition. Group B will conclude their Qualifying Round on Monday. The six-day event, hosted by the Town of Massena and Fish Massena, features 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

“What an awesome day. I can’t believe that I’m leading a smallmouth tournament up north,” said the Floridian Cox. “I feel like I picked up right where I left off last year. After looking at SCORETRACKER yesterday, I couldn’t sleep last night. And now I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight or tomorrow. I’m so ready to get back out there again.

“It’s hilarious, but I’m leading because I was worried about running out of my (Berkley PowerBait) MaxScent Flat Worms and (Berkley PowerBait) MaxScent Generals during practice,” Cox continued. “In practice I had a bunch of these (Berkley PowerBait MaxScent) Hit Worms , and I figured I’d use them up so I didn’t use up all of my good stuff before the event started. But man, they’ve been eating that Hit Worm so good and that thing really carried me today.”

Although the majority of Cox’s keepers came on the Hit Worm, he did say that he added a few key bass on the Berkley General.

“We did pull the General out for a few of them and I threw that thing around and caught some big ones too,” Cox continued. “It was just an awesome day. I moved around a lot today and sampled a lot of stuff to help get a game plan for when we come back out here Monday.

“I would love to win the Qualifying Round and be able to skip the Knockout Round and advance straight into the Championship Round,” Cox went on to say. “I know a lot of guys like being in that Knockout Round so they can follow the fish, but I feel pretty set on the areas that I’m fishing, so if I can let them rest it’ll be better.”

Connell credited a Ned rig for most of his success Saturday.

“I caught all of my fish on a Googan Baits Rattlin’ Ned,” Connell said. “This place is just unbelievable. I think I caught seven or eight 5-pounders today, maybe more. They’re biting out here, and I can’t wait to get back out here on Monday.”

“Using P-Line Tactical Fluorocarbon Line and making super long casts was the keys to my success today,” said third-place angler Thrift. “Most of my fish today came on a jig head with two types of soft plastics – the 3-inch Tennessee Shad-colored Damiki Stinger and Berkley MaxScent.

“I threw it on my signature series 7-foot medium-action Fitzgerald Drop Shot and Ned Rig rod, paired with an Abu Garcia Revo Premier Spinning Reel and spooled with 10-pound (P-Line) TCB 8 braid for my main line with 8-pound P-Line Tactical fluorocarbon leader. That setup is as good as it gets for finesse fishing,” Thrift went on to say.

The top 20 pros in Group B after Day 1 on the St. Lawrence River are:

1^st:          John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 31 bass, 99-1
2^nd:         Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 21 bass, 83-13
3^rd:         Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 28 bass, 81-13
4^th:         James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 27 bass, 78-2
5^th:         John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 25 bass, 73-2
6^th:         Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 21 bass, 69-7
7^th:         Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 20 bass, 69-6
8^th:         Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., 20 bass, 65-2
9^th:         Jared Lintner, Arroyo Grande, Calif., 20 bass, 64-4
10^th:       Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 22 bass, 63-13
11^th:       Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 21 bass, 63-1
12^th:       Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 18 bass, 60-12
13^th:       David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., 21 bass, 59-7
14^th:       Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 19 bass, 53-11
15^th:       Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 18 bass, 51-3
16^th:       Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 17 bass, 46-15
17^th:       Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 15 bass, 45-2
18^th:       Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., 17 bass, 43-11
19^th:       Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 16 bass, 43-6
20^th:       Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 16 bass, 41-10

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 621 bass weighing 1,855 pounds, 15 ounces caught by the 39 pros on Saturday.

The post John Cox Leads Group B at Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour Stage Five at St. Lawrence River appeared first on Bass365.com.

MASSENA, N.Y. (June 25, 2021) – The old saying “records were made to be broken” certainly held true for anglers Friday at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley in Massena, New York, as nearly every major Bass Pro Tour record was shattered on an incredible day of fishing.

Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, grabbed the early lead in Group A, catching 47 bass totaling 165 pounds, 1 ounce – a new Bass Pro Tour record for the heaviest single-day weight. The six-day event, hosted by the Town of Massena and Fish Massena, features 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

The former record of 141-9 held by Justin Lucas was also broken by the second- and third-place anglers Friday – Alton Jones Jr. of Waco, Texas, caught 49 bass weighing 147-10 to end the day in second place on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard, and California pro Brent Ehrler caught 43 bass totaling 141-12, good for third.

Overall, there were 918 bass weighing 2,894 pounds, 8 ounces caught by the 40 pros on Friday –a new Bass Pro Tour record for the heaviest total weight caught in a single day of competition.
The 40 anglers in Group A will now enjoy a well-deserved day off on Saturday, while the 40 anglers in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A resumes competition on Sunday.

“Goodness, gracious, what a day of fishing. I can’t even express how unbelievable today was. My knees hurt, my back hurts, I feel like an old guy,” joked the 31-year-old Wheeler. “But the guys right behind me are dang good, and I know that I’m going to have to do that every single day I’m out here. I’m looking forward to getting back out on Sunday, but I’m also glad we get to chill and take a break tomorrow.”

Wheeler’s record-breaking day came down to just a couple of different baits.

“I caught a lot of fish on a pink Ned Bait, and a lot on a (Googan Baits) Blue Penny (Rattlin’ Ned Bait) on a Ned rig,” Wheeler said. “That was pretty much the deal for me, just switching it up between the Rattlin’ Ned and a couple of other different Ned baits. It was pretty typical smallmouth fishing, just not a typical day.”

Second-place angler Alton Jones Jr. relied on a drop-shot rig.

“That was such a fun day that I will never forget,” Jones said. “I caught 147 pounds and finished the day in second. I don’t even know what to say. Good job to Wheeler. But there is always another day, and I’ll be ready.

“I caught all of my fish on a drop-shot today,” Jones continued. “I used two different baits – the 3.8-inch Gee Crack Bellows Stick and a Gee Crack Revival Shad. I ran waypoint to waypoint and literally relied on my Garmin units. Every single place that I stopped today I had a fish marked on the bed. Some of them were gone, but a lot of them weren’t.”

Like Jones, third-place pro Brent Ehrler did the majority of his damage on a drop-shot rig, but he also added a few fish on a Ned rig.

“I knew the fishing was going to be pretty good, but man, they absolutely caught them today,” Ehrler said. “I caught them on a drop-shot rig, with the bulk of my damage coming on a rod that I designed for Daiwa – the Tatula Elite drop-shot rod – with a Tatula LT reel. I used a Roboworm with an Ark Tungsten weight, 12-pound Sunline Xplasma braided line to an 8-pound Sunline FC Sniper fluorocarbon leader. That’s really standard for me on all spinning outfits and I caught the bulk of them today on that.

“I also caught a few on a Ned rig using the same setup, just with a BOSS Ned head and a Roboworm NED Worm and that was it. I found some good fish in practice and just went back and fished those areas and it paid off today.”

The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on the St. Lawrence River are:

1^st:          Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 47 bass, 165-1
2^nd:         Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 49 bass, 147-10
3^rd:         Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 43 bass, 141-12
4^th:         Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 41 bass, 135-3
5^th:         Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 45 bass, 132-9
6^th:         Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 36 bass, 125-8
7^th:         Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, 40 bass, 121-11
8^th:         Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 37 bass, 115-12
9^th:         Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 34 bass, 115-0
10^th:       Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 29 bass, 94-4
11^th:       Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 30 bass, 86-6
12^th:       David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 26 bass, 85-2
13^th:       Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 25 bass, 84-4
14^th:       Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 28 bass, 81-12
15^th:       Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 23 bass, 78-7
16^th:       Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., 21 bass, 72-11
17^th:       Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 25 bass, 70-15
18^th:       Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 22 bass, 67-3
19^th:       Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 22 bass, 66-11
20^th:       Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., 23 bass, 66-10

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The post acob Wheeler Shatters Single-Day Weight Record at Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley appeared first on Bass365.com.